The only partial completion of the EU internal market for services has arguably been one of the important stumbling blocks in unleashing economic growth throughout the Union. While being regarded as an outlier for decades, the freedom to provide services came to the forefront after a series of...

This article analyses the most recent WTO Appellate Body (AB) report in a series of disputes between the U.S. and the EU over government support to aircraft manufacturers Boeing and Airbus. The measures under dispute in US – Tax Incentives were investment promotion subsidies provided to Boeing...

The increased expansion of economic activity beyond national borders leads to a shift of regulatory power. Public authorities concede power, explicitly or tacitly, to private bodies, whereas the multilayered ecology of global governance inevitably increases the role of transnational...

Due to legislative and judicial developments, standard-setting has come to the forefront of public debates. Being for a long time considered as a 'no passing zone' for everyone but engineers and technical experts, standard-setting organizations (SSOs) have produced a rowing solid body of...

Trade regulation may never have been in more flux than it is now. Other than the emergence of ‘megaregionals' (such as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership-TTIP or the Trans-pacific Partnership-TPP) and the difficulties in finalizing the Doha Development Agenda, increased...

Services of general interest (SGI) are a key component of the EU economy, accounting for 26% of GDP and 30% of employment within the EU. They cover economic and noneconomic activities alike. They are to be distinguished from services of general economic interest (SGEI), which are economic...

Promotion of renewable energy has become one important priority in the political agenda worldwide. However, financing of renewable energy projects, especially the small-scale ones, is not always streamlined and banks may not always be willing to invest in such projects. This fact is accentuated...

Continuous innovation and a growing consumer demand for better and safer products has led to an increase of technical standards in recent years. The World Trade Organization (WTO) exercises a high level of deference towards international standards, requiring their use. However, practice shows...

Owing to innovations and a growing consumer demand for better and safer products, the number of technical standards has been steadily increasing in recent years. As standardization is a major catalyst to global commerce, The World Trade Organization (WTO), a typical consensus-driven...

The conclusion of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) constitutes a priority and key component of the new external trade policy of the European Union (EU) and an immediate follow-up to several years of regulatory cooperation between the two global trade powers. In an era of...